Propane tanks are used in various indoor and outdoor venues as grilling equipment for cooking or other industrial and recreational purposes. When using propane-fueled cooking grills, in addition to the closure valve on the propane tank itself, there are operating valves on the appliance with handles in close proxmity of the user. For instance, on a multi-burner propane grill, there is typically a separate valve for starting, throttling, and stopping propane to each burner. While these separate operating valves will nominally stop the flow of propane at the burner, propane gas grill manufacturers strongly recommended that the closure valve on the propane tank is secured between uses of the grill, rather than relying on the operating burner valves of the grill to stop the flow of propane to each burner.
Specific instances of dangerous scenarios of a propane tank not being turned off include wildlife animals chewing through the rubber or plastic propane gas lines connecting the propane tank to the grill burners, extended exposure of the propane gas line to weathering, and children at play causing accidental bumping into controls of the grill burners. Any of these scenarios could cause a potentially dangerous propane gas leak if the closure valve is not closed, thereby leading to a possible serious fire or explosion hazard.
Unfortunately, many users do not observe this recommendation to secure the closure valve of the propane tank between uses of the grill. Inconvenience is a leading cause users give for not turning off the closure valve, since the closure valve is relatively difficult and awkward to reach even in a relative simple propane grill. Additionally, immediately after use the grill remains quite hot and thus users also avoid turning off the closure valve because of the potential burn that can result in reaching the closure valve in proximity to the grill.